Editing Promethium (section)

===Discovery and synthesis of promethium metal===
Promethium was first produced and characterized at [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] (Clinton Laboratories at that time) in 1945 by [[Jacob A. Marinsky]], [[Lawrence E. Glendenin]] and [[Charles D. Coryell]] by separation and analysis of the fission products of [[uranium]] fuel irradiated in the [[X-10 Graphite Reactor|graphite reactor]]; however, being too busy with military-related research during [[World War II]], they did not announce their discovery until 1947.<ref name="Marinsky">{{cite journal |doi=10.1021/ja01203a059 |year=1947 |last1=Marinsky |first1=J. A. |last2=Glendenin |first2=L. E. |last3=Coryell |first3=C. D. |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |volume=69 |issue=11 |pages=2781–5 |pmid=20270831 |title=The chemical identification of radioisotopes of neodymium and of element 61|bibcode=1947JAChS..69.2781M |hdl=2027/mdp.39015086506477 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |year=2003 |title=Discovery of Promethium |journal=Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review |volume=36 |issue=1 |url= http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v36_1_03/article_02.shtml |access-date=2006-09-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150706071605/http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/v36_1_03/article_02.shtml |archive-date=2015-07-06}}<br />{{cite journal |year=2003 |title=Discovery of Promethium |journal=Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review |volume=36 |issue=1 |page=3 |url=https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/ORNL%20Review%20v36n1%202003.pdf#page=5 |access-date=2018-06-17}}</ref> The original proposed name was "clintonium", after the laboratory where the work was conducted; however, the name "prometheum" was suggested by Grace Mary Coryell, the wife of one of the discoverers.{{sfn|Emsley|2011|p=428}} It is derived from [[Prometheus]], the Titan in [[Greek mythology]] who stole fire from Mount Olympus and brought it down to humans{{sfn|Emsley|2011|p=428}} and symbolizes "both the daring and the possible misuse of the mankind intellect".<ref>{{cite book|title=Inorganic Chemistry|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|page=1694|first1=Egon|last1=Wiberg|first2=Nils|last2=Wiberg |first3=Arnold Frederick|last3=Holleman|year=2001|isbn=978-0-12-352651-9}}</ref> The spelling was then changed to "promethium", as this was in accordance with most other metals.{{sfn|Emsley|2011|p=428}}

<gallery widths="180" heights="200" class="center">
  File:Jacob A Marinsky.jpg|[[Jacob A. Marinsky]]
  File:Larry E Glendenin.jpg|[[Lawrence E. Glendenin]]
  File:Charles D. Coryell M.I.T. May 1947.png|[[Charles D. Coryell]]
</gallery>

In 1963, promethium(III) fluoride was used to make promethium metal. Provisionally purified from impurities of samarium, neodymium, and americium, it was put into a [[tantalum]] crucible which was located in another tantalum crucible; the outer crucible contained lithium metal (10 times excess compared to promethium).{{sfn|Emsley|2011|p=429}}{{sfn|Lavrukhina|Pozdnyakov|1966|p=123}} After creating a vacuum, the chemicals were mixed to produce promethium metal:

:PmF<sub>3</sub> + 3&nbsp;Li → Pm + 3&nbsp;LiF

The promethium sample produced was used to measure a few of the metal's properties, such as its [[melting point]].{{sfn|Lavrukhina|Pozdnyakov|1966|p=123}}

In 1963, ion-exchange methods were used at ORNL to prepare about ten grams of promethium from nuclear reactor fuel processing wastes.<ref name="CRCel" /><ref>{{cite journal|doi =10.1007/BF02037697|title =Chemical study on the separation and purification of promethium-147|year =1989|author =Lee, Chung-Sin|journal =Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry|volume =130|pages =21–37|last2 =Wang|first2 =Yun-Ming|last3 =Cheng|first3 =Wu-Long|last4 =Ting|first4 =Gann|issue =1|bibcode =1989JRNC..130...21L|s2cid =96599441}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ornl.gov/info/reports/1962/3445605484259.pdf |title= Ion exchange purification of promethium-147 and its separation from americium-241, with diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid as the eluant |author= Orr, P. B. |publisher= Oak Ridge National Laboratory |year= 1962 |access-date= 2011-01-31 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629124017/http://www.ornl.gov/info/reports/1962/3445605484259.pdf |archive-date= 2011-06-29 |url-status= dead }}<br />{{cite report |url=https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/4819080/ |title=Ion exchange purification of promethium-147 and its separation from americium-241, with diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid as the eluant |author=Orr, P. B. |publisher=Oak Ridge National Laboratory |year=1962 |doi=10.2172/4819080 |access-date=2018-06-17 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015077313933 |osti=4819080 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Promethium can be either recovered from the byproducts of uranium fission or produced by bombarding <sup>146</sup>Nd with [[neutron]]s, turning it into <sup>147</sup>Nd, which decays into [[promethium-147|<sup>147</sup>Pm]] through beta decay with a half-life of 11 days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele061.html|title=The Element Promethium|last=Gagnon|first=Steve|work=Jefferson Lab|publisher=Science Education|access-date=26 February 2012}}</ref>